1. a. The driver of a motor vehicle commits a serious misdemeanor if the driver willfully fails to bring the motor vehicle to a stop or otherwise eludes or attempts to elude a marked or unmarked official law enforcement vehicle driven by a peace officer after being given a visual and audible signal to stop. The signal given by the peace officer shall be by flashing red light, or by flashing red and blue lights, and siren. For purposes of this section, “peace officer” means those officers designated under section 801.4, subsection 11, paragraphs “a”, “b”, “c”, “f”, “g”, and “h”.

 b. The driver of a motor vehicle who commits a second or subsequent violation under this subsection is, upon conviction, guilty of an aggravated misdemeanor.

Attorney's Note

Under the Iowa Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
Class C felonyup to 10 yearsbetween $1,370 and $13,660
Class D felonyup to 5 yearsbetween $1,025 and $10,245
Aggravated misdemeanorup to 2 yearsbetween $855 and $8,540
Serious misdemeanorup to 1 yearbetween $430 and $2,560
For details, see Iowa Code902.9 and Iowa Code§ 903.1

Terms Used In Iowa Code 321.279

  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Driver: means a person who operates a motor vehicle for the transportation of railroad workers in the motor vehicle on behalf of a railroad worker transportation company, whether the person is employed by the company for wages or drives for the company as an independent contractor. See Iowa Code 327F.39
  • following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute mean the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Motor vehicle: means a self-propelled vehicle purchased or leased in this state, except as provided in section 322G. See Iowa Code 322G.2
  • Person: includes any individual, firm, corporation, partnership, joint adventure, or association, and the plural as well as the singular number. See Iowa Code 321H.2
  • Vehicle: means any vehicle as defined in chapter 321. See Iowa Code 321H.2
 2. a. The driver of a motor vehicle commits an aggravated misdemeanor if the driver willfully fails to bring the motor vehicle to a stop or otherwise eludes or attempts to elude a marked or unmarked official law enforcement vehicle that is driven by a peace officer after being given a visual and audible signal as provided in this section and in doing so exceeds the speed limit by twenty-five miles per hour or more.

 b. The driver of a motor vehicle who commits a violation under this subsection and who has previously committed a violation under this subsection or subsection 3 is, upon conviction, guilty of a class “D” felony.
 3. a. The driver of a motor vehicle commits a class “D” felony if the driver willfully fails to bring the motor vehicle to a stop or otherwise eludes or attempts to elude a marked or unmarked official law enforcement vehicle that is driven by a peace officer after being given a visual and audible signal as provided in this section, and in doing so exceeds the speed limit by twenty-five miles per hour or more, and if any of the following occurs:

 (1) The driver is participating in a public offense, as defined in section 702.13, that is a felony.
 (2) The driver is in violation of section 321J.2.
 (3) The driver is in violation of section 124.401.
 (4) The offense results in bodily injury to a person other than the driver.
 b. The driver of a motor vehicle who commits a second or subsequent violation under this subsection is, upon conviction, guilty of a class “C” felony.